THE MOBILITY OF RACE IN "THE BLIND SIDE"

By: Samantha Forsyth

The way in which social space is oriented towards and against particular bodies is rarely addressed because space is often viewed as a neutral arena in which people of different race, gender, and class are located.

Tuohy Family Home

However, a closer analysis of the intersection of race, class, and space reveals that space is a powerful, rather than innocuous force, which functions to define, confine, and regulate individuals marked as racially and economically inferior (Sullivan 2006). The film ‘The Blind Side,’ which is based on the true story of a young black male from the ‘inner-city ghetto’ of Tennessee who is adopted by a suburban white family, clearly portrays how space, and by extension the bodies who occupy them, come to be known in racialized terms.

The boundaries between racialized and non-racialized spaces are clearly defined from the beginning of the movie when Michael Oher, a black boy who is adopted by Leigh Anne Tuoy and her family, drives through the inner city housing projects into a white suburban neighborhood. This scene epitomizes the coloring and separation of space through its portrayal of the inner city ‘ghetto’ of ‘Hurt Village’ as a run-down space only occupied by black people and the white suburban neighborhood as pristine space filled with wealthy white individuals.

The racialized nature of these spaces is exacerbated by the fact that there are very few scenes in the movie where white and black individuals are shown occupying the same space at the same time. The only scenes in the film where a white individual is presented in the space of “Hurt Village” is when Leigh Anne goes with Michael to pick up his belongings from his house and when she returns alone to the ‘ghetto’ to talk to Michael’s mother about adopting Michael. White individuals rarely venture over to ‘the other side of town’ because “Hurt Village” is marked as a ‘primitive,’ ‘barbaric,’ and ‘dangerous’ space. The danger embedded within the space of ‘Hurt Village’ is evidenced by the comment made by one of Leigh Anne’s friends at a luncheon who states that ‘Hurt Village’ ‘sounds like a threat’ and that it would ruin her reputation to be seen ‘on the other side of town.’ This comment demonstrates how the division of space functions to create a racialized class divide between those who are deemed civilized and ‘safe’ from those who are viewed as ‘wild’ and ‘dangerous’ (Sullivan 2006).

Leigh Anne critiquing the coaching skills of Hugh Freeze

In addition, the way in which black and white individuals inhabit space in the film is racialized. While it may appear that the spatiality of white individuals is equally as constrained as blacks because of their apprehensiveness and fear towards entering ‘Hurt Village,’ the way in which black and white individuals are able to live their spatiality differs immensely (Sullivan 2006). For example, even though Leigh Anne’s gender limits the degree to which she is able to enter or feel safe entering black space, (i.e. Leanne is told by Michael to stay in the car and lock the door upon entering ‘Hurt Village’) her whiteness provides her with a certain privilege sense of belonging and entitlement that is inaccessible to a black man or woman. The mobility and freedom that ‘whiteness’ permits is evidenced in the way in which Leigh Anne considers all spaces as rightfully available for her occupation. Leigh Anne inhabits the ‘masculine’ space of the football field in order to critique the coaching skills of Hugh Freeze, the ‘digital’ space of Michael’s personal documents on his family and education background, as well as the home of Michael’s mother in ‘Hurt Village’ to discuss whether she would be accepting of the adoption. While the occupation of these spaces by Leigh Anne is viewed as a reflection of her ‘bravery’ and ‘maternal instinct’ to protect Michael, it is important that Leigh Anne’s ability to move effortlessly throughout space is not reduced to the fact that she is a ‘determined and caring mother.’ Rather, Leigh Anne’s spatiality is a product of her whiteness and wealth and the expansiveness this allows in the transaction between and within spaces marked as either ‘white’ or ‘black.’ The continued invisibility of racialized space and the immobility these spaces present to black individuals have allowed for the perpetuation of stereotypes of blacks as ‘docile’ or ‘lazy.’ It is important that this immobility comes to be understood as a product of spatiality and the way in which black and white individuals occupy space in unequal and non-reciprocal ways.

Leigh Anne gives Michael a speech as she inhabits the masculine space of the football field

If you would like to join the discussion about Space and Race in The Blind Side leave a comment below! 

Sullivan, Shannon. 2006. Revealing Whiteness: The Unconscious Habits of Racial Privilege. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Samantha Forsyth is the Space and Race Contributor for the Hollywood Race Report